I just a few weeks ago helped swap out ECS rotors for OEM rotors after he too toasted them after 1 light part track day. I think ECS is getting cheaper and cheaper blanks to cut costs. But it’s clear they don’t hold up
I don’t really want to shit on them…But yea, not the right tool for the job. I think because the cross drills.
West showed the jhm rotors weren’t great for the track also, probably because they don’t float at all.
But both those rotors would be great for straight line speed at the strip.
Oddly, I think both the Stillen/AP and the JHM rotor were insufficient because of the floating hardware. I understand that’s a good place to save money because no one will pay for it, until they have this problem.
When in doubt, go Brembo. They simply don’t f*** up.
I’m very pleased with my Girodisc 380mm rotors.
They’ve held up very well to my abuse.
These brembo discs are holding up well as the track season grinds on.
How are the rear wave rotors holding up?
Rear wave rotors are still the best option. They consistently get up to 650 F, same as the fronts. I think the stiff rear spring rate holding them down is what’s enabling them to participate in braking.
One of the stoptech reps on AZ asked the question if people would pay for rear 2-piece aero rotors. I’d be all over that, hopefully while my JHM’s are in good condition.
The stoptech “sport” rotors are essentially the same as the adams, ecs geomet and other random suppliers that buy factory blanks for uber cheap and then press some holes/slots into them. Waste of money for sure.
Good to know this option is out there and holding up, thanks!
Nice, I would definitely be all over 2-piece rear aero’s! I also agree re the stoptech “sports” but got them anyway just to go with my new pads in the rear. They seem to be holding up for now but I haven’t done my suspension yet and would anticipate seeing what West is experiencing when I do (higher temps in the rear). Not sure my rear setup will hold up at that point (stoptech sport rotors and stoptech street performance pads).
I can’t get behind this new ECS/Porsche kit.
My friend just bought that porsche kit for his s5, and is going to run ebc Yellowstuff with take off Pirelli slicks…wouldn’t listen to me when I told him those pads suck for track driving. Will find out in a couple weeks lol
I suppose it will get the job done. But SUV calipers on a car is like using a demolition hammer on a finishing nail. 30-32mm is the correct front rotor width for this platform. 38mm is absurd. Even the RS5 ceramic kit is only 34mm wide.
Speaking from experience, there’s two ways to do this. The cheap way, then you buy Brembo. Or you just start with Brembo or StopTech.
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Yellow stuff pads work for me. I like them and they showed very little wear after 17K miles and four track days.
fixed XD
I dont understand why 38mm would be absurd. For a factory weight s4, you’re talking about over 4000lbs with driver and a tank of gas. 32mm is the minimum. FWIW, even the Boss302 (yeah i talk about this car a lot :D) factory 355 rotors are 32mm thick–and this car is under 3700lbs. It’s much lighter than an S4.
The fact that the ceramic option is 34mm is indicative of how huge of a rotor this car really needs. Ceramic rotors have much higher heat capacity than iron, so they can actually get away with being smaller than an iron rotor (http://www.carbonceramicbrake.com/faq-dls.html). Rotor thickness is all about increasing heat capacity of the disc because you get to a point where ventilation cannot keep up with the heat generated from the brakes.
Maybe for a lapping day, 32mm thickness is great (and definitely 380mm preferred). But for a street weight s4 doing anything more than that, I actually beg to differ. The car is under braked. Put the S4 on a tight track with short straights, and you’ll find even a 32mm thick bbk will begin to heat soak.
That said, I too am not a fan of the ECS kit. But I still standby that most off the shelf BBK’s for this car aren’t going to be enough in some situations.
Here’s a great comparison: Z28–similar fatness to an S4. Similar power (if you go stage 2 etc etc).
It uses a 394mm rotor with 36mm thickness - NOW THAT IS A BRAKE. and btw, that is ceramic. Had it been iron, you can bet your dollar it would be 38mm 
It’s rear rotor is 32mm thick for goodness sakes!
So you’d advocate these if money was no object? http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=281277963984&globalID=EBAY-US
lol yup. at that point though, it makes sense to get (or make) a dedicated track car.
My poor buddy with the DD S5 who bought an e36 M3 sedan (pictured in the motorsports seats cage thread) has had awful luck. He got into it for like $15-19k. Did the seats, cage, tires, cooling, subframe reinforce, and a bunch of other track prep work. Last time we went out his coolant hose kept falling off and he missed a bunch of sessions after his aftermarket radiator gave out. Then he gets home and finds out the block is cracked. $9000 for a new one refurbished from the junkyard.
honestly, 20k to 30k build a track car sounds about right.
As for prev maintenance, yup, lots of stuff to do when you’re beating on your car that hard at the circuit.
But therein lies the difference. Your buddy has a track car. And granted, so do you. However, for all the other guys who take their B8 S4 to the race track, they have a car that happens to see the track–not a track car. For the most part, ppl’s s4’s are in no way track prepped, and is likely not competitive when put into their own racing classes (unless one swaps out seats + puts in real suspension + spherical bearings in place of bushings etc etc as you are doing/have done). So in the end, you may be comparing a 30k build for a used car (ok, i’ll give you 40k even)…vs building a new car like an S4 for close to 90 Not to mention, much of the track prep stuff that you can do on an e36, you cannot even do on an s4 without custom parts… 
For me, my car is a total compromise and i get that. I just get out there and have fun with what i got. it’s still a capable platform. But I know i get spanked by e36 track cars all day long 